'Iran's next target was big Satan': Ex-US NSA backs Trump's Iran strike, says regime change possible

Former U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton has backed President Donald Trump's decision to strike Iran's nuclear facilities, calling it a turning point that could lead to regime change in Tehran. Speaking to CNN, Bolton described the strikes as a necessary move against what he called a growing global threat.

"Let me say this unequivocally — I think President Trump made the right decision for America to attack Iran's nuclear weapons program," Bolton said. "I think we're on the verge of potentially seeing regime change in Iran as part of that. This is a huge change in the Middle East."

The U.S. military targeted three of Iran's most sensitive nuclear facilities — Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan — in a strike ordered by Trump on Saturday. The President later said the sites were "completely and totally obliterated." The operation followed an earlier Israeli assault on Iranian assets that resulted in the killing of top IRGC commanders and nuclear scientists.

Bolton, a long-time advocate of tougher measures against Tehran, said the decision was overdue. "It was a decisive action. It was the right thing to do. I thought somebody should do it for a long time — but better late than never."

Asked why Trump acted now, Bolton pointed to Iran's alleged role in launching the October 7, 2023, war against Israel. "It was going to come down to this at some point anyway. This is Iran's effort to go after the little Satan, and the next target was the big Satan," he said, referring to Israel and the US.

He added: "Iran is not just Israel's problem. Iran is the world's problem. It's particularly the U.S. problem, and we have now acted against this nuclear proliferation threat."

On the prospect of Iranian retaliation, Bolton warned that Tehran should tread carefully. "If I were an Iranian general now...seeing my ballistic missile and nuclear weapons programs lying in ashes, I'd be saying to myself — do I really want to take on a second military adversary in the form of the United States?"

He cautioned that any response — whether through attacks on US forces, Gulf oil infrastructure, or acts of global terrorism — would be met with "brutal force" by Washington. "At that point, neither Donald Trump nor any other American president has any option," he said.

Responding to concerns about a wider conflict, Bolton dismissed the need for ground troops. "There's no question of boots on the ground. The only adversary we face here is Iran, and their military capability is being decimated as we speak."

He argued that the Iranian regime is at its weakest since 1979. "Every day that goes by, every military commander who's killed, every piece of ordinance that's destroyed leaves that regime weaker," he said, pointing to economic hardship, corruption, and growing dissent among Iran's youth.

"Since the Mahsa Amini murder two years ago, 50% of the population has basically demonstrated they don't think the Ayatollas really do speak with the word of God when it comes to female dress codes," Bolton added.

On June 17, Trump posted: "Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. It’s very simple — you don’t have to go too deep into it. They just can’t have a nuclear weapon."